


The Night Before

by AnnieVH



Series: Behind Closed Doors [23]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Gen, Gossip, Rumbelle - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-23
Updated: 2015-01-23
Packaged: 2018-03-08 17:46:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3217970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnieVH/pseuds/AnnieVH
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Belle tells Ruby about the Golds. (follows *A Truckloadk of Flowers*)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Night Before

**Author's Note:**

> Pairings for this verse: eventual Rumbelle and Swanfire.  
> Warnings for this verse: abusive relationship, implied non-con situations, child-abuse, violence, infidelity, very anti-Milah.
> 
> A HUGE THANKS to Oncer4Life69Dearie (http://archiveofourown.org/users/Oncer4Life69Dearie/pseuds/Oncer4Life69Dearie) who did the beta for this one-shot!

“I thought they had mended all marital problems” Ruby said, incapable of keeping up her silent treatment when offered a juicy piece of gossip involving, in her own words, “the town's shrew”.

“Didn't feel like it,” Belle said, pouring syrup on her pancakes.

“So what happened?” Ruby pressed, eager for more.

But Belle knew information traveled quickly in Storybrooke, especially from Ruby's lips, and kept the whole explanation as vague as she could. All she wanted was her friend's forgiveness for missing out on girls' night.

“I'm sorry,” she said, “I was a little worked up.”

“That bad?” Ruby said, more curious than concerned for her fellow citizen.

“No, not the fight. I didn't really hear most of it. But she saw me standing there and took it out on me.”

“What did she say to you?”

Belle thought about the night before. Suddenly, she felt very silly. “Now that I think about it, she just offended my bouquet.”

“That bitch.”

“It was worse than it sounds!”

“Hey, she offends my pancakes every other Tuesday. I never stood up friends because of that.”

“She just – I don't know, I went out of my way to do something nice and she looked like she wanted to cut me to pieces.”

“Get used to it. That's Mrs. Gold, through and through. Not worth losing sleep over it. And surely not worth missing girls' night over it.” Ruby took a sip of her hot chocolate. Then, she smiled behind her mug. “But it _was_ worth giving Gaston hell over it.”

Belle wasn't sure if she should smile back, despite feeling like it. Her confrontation with Gaston had been long overdue and, yes, if she had to be completely honest with herself, it was very satisfying. But she knew she hadn't shouted her lungs out at him just because she was fuming with anger at his behavior – which she had so aptly labeled as “very non-charming stalker tendencies”.

No, she hadn't shouted at him. In her head, she had still been standing in front of Mr. Gold's house, replaying that scene, over and over. She didn't even notice she was driving back to Granny's. She didn't even notice she was screaming at Gaston until he slammed the door behind him. The person she really wanted to scream at had gotten into her car and driven far away from Belle's anger and her husband's heartbreak.

Ruby laughed. “I cannot believe you called him a thick-headed brute and I was not there to see it.”

“Am I forgiven?”

“Half forgiven. I'll let you do all the heavy lifting when you move out.”

Belle played with her pancakes, feeling a little better.

Ruby asked, “What were they fighting about?”

“What?”

“The Golds. What were they fighting about?”

“I don't know. They were just screaming. Well, she was screaming. He was... trying to calm her down.”

“Sounds like Mr. Gold. She cracks that whip and he follows like a puppy.”

“Don't be mean, Ruby.”

“I'm not. It's their thing.” Ruby collected the plates from the counter. “And either way, who am I to judge? _My_ longest relationship didn't last a tenth of what their marriage lasted. Maybe that's the secret to happiness? Find a wealthy guy with a kink for shouty women?”

Ruby took the plates to the kitchen. When she came back, Belle was quiet again.

“What's up with you?”

“He doesn't deserve to be screamed at. He's a nice person.”

Ruby grinned from ear to ear. “Look at you.”

“What?” Belle asked, putting herself in the defensive. Ruby was probably going to accuse her of having a crush on a married man.

“Heroic Lady Belle,” Ruby said. “I missed her.”

“What?”

“It's your thing. You see someone in trouble and you're off to rescue them.”

“Am not!”

“I bet you're ready to go get yourself a stallion and ride it to the pawnshop. Mr. Gold! Mr. Gold!” Ruby boasted, making Belle look around the empty diner to make sure no one had entered while she wasn't paying attention. “Let down thy golden skein!”

“What?”

“Skein. You know, because of the spinning wheel? You do remember the spinning wheel. It's a clever pun.”

“Yes, I get it. Enough with the teasing.”

Ruby laughed, but refrained from making any more comments.

“And no word of it to anyone.”

Now she looked disappointed. Gossip was the source of her best tips. “But Belle!”

“If word gets out, Mr. Gold will know I told you,” Belle said. “He's helping me a lot. I don't want him to think I'm ungrateful. Or worse, that I think his private life is a joke.”

The doorbell chimed and Archie Hopper entered with a friendly greeting. Belle threw her friend one last warning look and Ruby gave in with a begrudged “Fine!”

She picked up her notepad and said, “But I do think you're overreacting. I bet the whole thing was very silly to begin with. He's a grown man and he's been with her thirty years. Clearly he doesn't need help.”

Belle knew she was right, but she couldn't shake that feeling that something was wrong. It was just a feeling, nagging at the back of her head. It wasn't the shouting, it wasn't the things Mrs. Gold had said about the flowers. It was something else that she couldn't really put her finger on.

Before going to the library, Belle walked to the pawnshop. It was out of her way and Ruby would tease her forever if she found out, but she just needed to know he was – what? Alright? Happy? Still married? Belle settled for “no longer upset”. If she could see him, bent over his clock, tools at hand, blissfully lost in his own mess that would set her mind at ease.

She wasn't completely surprised to find out the pawnshop was closed, and remained closed for the rest of the day.

**Author's Note:**

> A list of all one-shots in verse chronological order can be found here: http://annievh.tumblr.com/post/102166515522/behind-closed-doors-warnings-domestic-abuse
> 
> I'm still taking prompts for this verse if anybody wants to send them.
> 
> I'm also doing a ASK MY CHARACTERS (http://annievh.tumblr.com/post/106018882167/ask-my-characters-a-question-and-they-shall).


End file.
